Heat treating basket



June 4, 1963 c. BlXBY HEAT TREATING BASKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan.27, 1961 PYLIHWII K INVENTOR. LE ON C. BIA 6 Y wk; W7

June 4, 1963 c. BIXBY HEAT TREATING BASKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan.27, 1961 INVENTOR.

LEON C. BIA BY BY z w HIS HTTOENE'YS 3,092,375 HEAT TREATDIG BASKET LeonC. Bixby, 234 Elm St., Wellington, Ohio Filed Jan. 27, 1961, Ser. No.85,390 12 Claims. (Cl. 2453-47) This invention relates to improvementsin baskets for use in heat treating operations and the like and moreparticularly to an improved floor construction for porous heat treatingbaskets although not necessarily so limited.

In heat treating small articles, it is frequently the practice to placethe articles in a porous metallic basket, to expose the articles in thebasket to the prescribed heat, and then to place the articles still inthe basket in a suitable cooling both. The basket is made porous toenable a sufficient movement of the cooling liquid into and out of thebasket. In this type of operation, the heat treating basket isrepeatedly subjected to high and then relatively low temperatures, suchthat the metal of the basket undergoes repeated expansion andcontraction. It follows that the basket construction must be such as toallow for substantially free expansion and contraction in all parts ofthe basket.

An object of this invention is to provide a porous metallic basket foruse in heat treating processes having an improved floor constructionwhich permits expansion and contraction of the parts of the floorsubstantially independently of one another.

Another object of this invention is to provide a metallic heat treatingbasket with an improved floor construction of simple and economicconstruction readily asembled from conventional stock.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, thecombination thereof, the method of manufacture and the mode ofoperation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a heat treatingbasket made in accordance with this invention with portions broken awayto reveal structural detail.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the portion of theimproved floor enclosed within the arcuate line 2 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front elevational View of the same portion ofthe floor shown in FIGURE '2.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a heat treatingbasket made in accordance with this invention. Again portions are brokenaway to reveal structural detail.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary front sectional view of a portion of, thefloor taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG- URE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of a side frame structure for the heattreating basket taken along lines 6-6 of FIGURE 4.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the basket in FIGURE '1includes a pair of outer frame members 10 and 12 and a pair of innerframe members14- and 16. Transverse to these frame members are spacedparallel tie rods 18. The outer frame members 10 and 12 include elongatebase members 20 made from angle stock providing downwardly extendingflanges 22 and inwardly horizontally extending flanges 24. The ends ofthe tie rods 18 are turned upwardly to project through aperturesprovided in the inwardly directed flanges 24. The opposite ends of theflanges 22 of the outer frame members .10 and 12 are turned upwardly asare the outer ends of the inner frame members 14 and 16. The upturnedends of each of these frame members are apertured to support a pluralityof transverse end rods 26. These rods 26 cooperate with the upwardlyturned ends of the frame members 10, 12, 14 and 16 to form ends of thebasket. The ends 28 of each of the transverse rods 26 are upset tosecure them against removal. In addition another transverse rod 30 issupported between the inner frame members 14 and 16 midway between thepair of transverse rods 26. As with the rods 26, the ends of the rods 30are upset as designated at 32. The central portion of the uppermost rod26 at each end of the basket is bent upwardly to provide a pair ofhandles 31. The rods 26 and 30 also support U-shaped brackets 34 mountedon the opposite ends of the basket, there being one U-shaped bracket 34confined between the adjacent upwardly turned portions of each outer andinner frame member. That is, there is one U-shaped bracket 34 disposedat each corner of the basket. The purpose of the brackets 34 is to adaptthe basket for engagement with conveyors used in conventional heattreating ovens.

As noted earlier, the base of the sides of the basket are provided bythe frame members 10 and 12. Also, an upper side frame member 49 extendslongitudinally of the basket on each side thereof. Each end 42 of bothside. members 40 is folded and apertured so as to be held by theuppermost rods 26 between the upwardly turned portions of the flanges 22and one side of a U-shaped bracket 34. As with the frame members 10 and12, the side members 40 are made from angle stock, thereby providing aninwardly directed horizontal flange 44- having apertures (not shown)through which the upwardly turned ends of the tie rods 18 extend. Theopposite ends of the tie rods are upset, as indicated at 46.

The brackets 34 serve to separate the outer frame member 10 from theinner frame member 14 and the outer frame member 12 from the inner framemember 16. Since the upper rods 26 pass through apertures in the foldedflanges 42 and through apertures in the upturned ends of the framemembers '10 and 12, the members 40 are thus spaced one from the other.The inner frame members 14- and 16 are held in spacedrelation due to thebent handle portion 31. Thus, the general outline of the basket isretained by the construction of parts as thus far described. It isapparent however, that the shape of the basket would not be retainedupon prolonged use due to the difference in thermal expansion betweenthe various parts as. the basket is repeatedly heated and cooled. Toretain the shape of the basket during use, the vertical upturned portionof the rods 18, the rods 26 and the rods 30 are encircled with coiledwire elements 48, which serve as spacers for the sides and ends of thebasket. The coiled wire elements 48 encircle all exposed verticalportions of most of the rods 18 and all of the exposed portions of therods 26 but for the handle portions 31 and all exposed portions of therods 30 with the result that all looseness inherent in the structure ofthe basket is taken up. The coils 48 are tightly wound so that there islittle or no clearance for the compression of the coils, thus producinga basket structure which is substantially rigid. The structure andfunction of the coils 48 is more fully explained in my copendingapplication for US. ,Letters Patent, Serial Number 764,965, filedOctober 2, 8, now US. Patent No. 3,012,766.

The tie rods :18 are passed through aligned apertures 49 in theinnerframe members 14 and 16 to provide a frame for the basket floor.The floor is completed by a plurality of wire elements 50, which areformed with equispaced loops 52 throughout their entire length throughwhich the tie rods 18 are passed. Thus, the wire elements 50, along withthe tie rods =18 form a mesh or lattice work upon which the articles tobe treated are placed. Note that, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the tierods 18 are considerably thicker than the wire elements 50 No attempthas been made to show the dis- I the wire elements on the tie rods 18.In the past, Wire 7 elements, such as those designated at 50, have beenspaced by comparatively expensive and heavy sleeves or the like locatedbetween each loop 52. With this invention, however, the spacingof thewire elements 50' is greatly simplified. As most clearlyindicatcd inFIG- URES 2 and 3, the tie rods 18 in addition to being inserted throughthe loops 52 are also coursed through a pair of washers or discs 54 oneach side of each loop 52. After the assembly of the basket has beencompleted, an abutment or bead 56 is welded onto each rod 1 8 on thesides of the washers 54 opposite each loop 52, thus confining each ofthe loops 52 between a pair of washers or discs 54 and a pair ofabutments or beads 56. A similar construction is placed adjacent thesides of the frame members 14 and 16.

In practice, thewashers 54 are initially welded to the rods 18 so as tobe rigidly afllxed thereto. It would be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art that an ordinary weld between the washers 54 and therods 18 would fail during use due to the constant expansion andcontraction of the various elements upon heating and cooling. However,it has been found that by utilizing a weld material made from the samematerial, as the tie rods 18, the abutments may be permanently fused tothe tie rods 18 in the welding operation. Thus, even though the weld isdestroyed between the washers 54' and the beads 56 as illustrated inFIGURE 3, the beads 56 will remain fused to the tie rods 18. That theweld connection between the beads 56 and the washers 54 fails is notdeleterious. In fact, this is beneficial. While it is necessary toconfine the loops 52 within a comparatively small portion of each of therods 18, it is desirable to permit room for expansion for the loops. Asis clear from FIGURE 3, with this construction, each of the parts mayundergo expansion during heating and contraction during cooling withoutharmful effects since each of the parts may expand independently. If theparts could not expand independently, there would be a great danger thatlocalized stress would occur at the points where the loops 52 areconnected to the rods 18.

It is to be understood that all of the various parts of ,7

the basket illustrated in FIGURE 1 are made from metal. While any one ofnumerous metals may be used to make the tie rods 18 and the beads 56, ithas been found satisfactory to use Inconel, an alloy of approximately6.5% iron, 13% chromium, and 79.5% nickel, for the rods 18 andaccordingly an Inconel weld material is used in forming the beads orabutments 56. It should be apparent that, since the weld connectionbetween the discs or washers 54 and the beads 56 is destroyed during theuse of the basket without any deleterious effects, the washers 54 arenot necessary. In fact, the primary purpose of the washers 54 is toinsure that a direct weld is not made between the loops 52 and the tierods 18. If such a weld were made, the loops, which are much thinnerthan the rods, might be broken or otherwise harmed if afiixed to therods 18 during repeated heating and cooling. The washers 54,accordingly, are placed on opposite sides of the loops 52 since it isdifficult to place a small welded bead closely adjacentthe loops 52without actually touching the loops 52 during the welding operation.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 through 6 which disclose another embodimentof the instant invention, the basket structure is much the same as thatshown in FIG- URES 1 through 3 and the parts are accordingly identifiedby identical reference characters. In the case of the basket of FIGURE4, two changes are, made which considerably reduce the weight of thebasket and additionally, the time and expense required to make thebasket. One change that is made is that the coiled wire elements 48which insure rigidity of the basket construction are not used. Instead,the shape of the basket is retained by placing washers 60 adjacent bothinternal sides of each of the brackets 34 surrounding the rods 26. Thesewashers are then welded to the rods 18. Similarly, washers 62. arewelded at the opposite ends of, the transverse rods 30 and 26 on theopposed .facesof the frame members 14 and 16 so as to insure properspacing therebetween. Further, as shown most clearly in FIGURE 6,washers 66 are provided adjacent the outer frame members 10 and .12 andthe upper frame members 40 associated therewith on the opposed faces ofthe flanges 24 and 44 respectively. The washers 66 are then welded asindicated at 68- to separate the members 10 and 12 form the members 40'.Again the weld material is preferably made from the. same material asthe material of the tie rods 18 and transverse rods 26 and 30 so thateven if the weld to the washers should fail, the washers could not slipover the remaining weld abutment. This has been found to be much cheaperand, of course, produces a lighter basket than the basket employing thecoil wire elements 48 in FIGURE 1.

Another distinction between the basket shown in FIG- URES 4 through 6and that shown in FIGURES 1 through 3 relates to spacing of the loops52. As shown in FIG URE 5, the loops 52 on the tie rods 18 are spaced byproviding elongate welded abutments 70 between adjacent loops. It hasbeen found just as easy to provide the elongate abutments 70 as it is toprovide a pair of heads adjacent the loops 52 as in the previouslydescribed embodiment. Furthermore, in practice it is possible to providean elongate welded abutment 70 between the loops 52 without engaging theloops during the welding operation. Thus, there is no necessity in thiscase for the use of washers 54. While the welded abutments 70 areillustrated as being on the bottom of the floor or lattice work providedby the wires 54} and the tie rods 18, it would, of course, be possibleto provide. the welded abutments 70 on top of the tie rods 18.

In fabricating the heat treating baskets made in accordance with thisinvention, it has been found preferable to .pre-form the wire elements50 from a suitable alloy such as Inconel. Also, as noted above, the tierods 18 are preferably made from Inconel along with the welded abutmentsand transverse rods 26, 30. Thus, the abutments when fused by weldingwith the rods, become integral therewith. The remaining elements makingup the basket may be made from iron or steel or any other suitablematerial.

It is recognized that in the past welding has been used to. secure.together the various parts of heat treating baskets. in fact, muctelfort has been made to dispense with welding in heat treating baskets,because of the danger of weld failure during repeated heating andcooling. Also, the welded parts could not expand and contract withfreedom, whereupon undesired stresses were produced. at the weldedjoints. .Accordingly, it is to be emphasized that, aside from the jointsformed between the washers and the rods, which are destroyed in use, noparts of the baskets described above are secured together by welding.Thus, the objections to ordinary welds do not apply to the presentinvention. Also, it is to be emphasized that the weld material is addedto the rods 18. This is preferable to drawing abutments from the rods byheating or staking them. If the abutments were drawn from the rods,repeated heating and cooling would produce localized stresses in therods due to the uneven thermal response resulting from theirdisfigurement. By adding weld material to the rods made from the samemetal or alloy as the rods, the variations in thermal response areminimized.

Although the presently preferred embodiments of the invention have beendescribed, it will be understood that within the purview of thisinvention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportionand arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and mode of operation,which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out theobjects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a heat treating basket, a support structure including a pluralityof spaced, substantially parallel support rods, a plurality ofsubstantially parallel wire elements extending normal to said supportrods, each of said wire elements having spaced loops therein encirclingsuccessive support rods, and spacing means adjacent each of said wireelements including abutment means integrally added to said support rodswhich limit movement of the wires along the length of the rods.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said abutment means comprises anelongate weld fused to each rod between each pair of wires.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein the welds are made from the samematerial as the rods.

4. The combination of claim 1, wherein said abutment means comprises aplurality of beads of weld material and said spacing means furthercomprises a plurality of washers which encircle the support rods, therebeing one washer confined adjacent each side of each loop by said beads.

'5. The combination of claim 4, wherein the beads are made from the samematerial as the rods.

6. In a heat treating basket, 2. support structure in cluding aplurality of spaced substantially parallel support rods, a plurality ofsubstantially parallel Wire elements extending normal to said supportrods, a plurality of connecting means on said wire elements encirclingeach of said support rods for fixing the rods thereto and spacing meansadjacent each of said connecting means including abutment meansintegrally added to said support rods which limit movement of the wiresalong the length of the rods.

7. The combination of claim 6, wherein said abutment means comprises anelongate weld fused to each rod be tween each pair of wires.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the welds are made from the samematerial as the rods.

9. The combination of claim 6, wherein said abutment means comprises aplurality of beads of Weld material and said spacing means furthercomprises a plurality of washers which encircle the support rods, therebeing one washer confined adjacent each side of each loop by said beads.

10. The combination of claim 9, wherein the beads are made from the samematerial as the rods.

11. In a heat treating basket of the type employing spaced tie rods, aside wall structure comprising a pair of vertically spaced frame membershaving a plurality of aligned apertures therein, vertical supportingposts extending through each pair of aligned apertures, said posts beingformed from upturned ends of said tie rods, each of said posts havingenlarged ends cooperating to secure the posts to the frame members andmeans sepa rating the frame members including abutment means integrallyadded to each of said posts.

12. The combination of claim 11, wherein said abut ment means comprisesa pair of welded beads between said frame members, there being one beadnear each end of each post, and said means separating the frame memberfurther includes a washer confined between each weld and its adjacentframe member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS557,706 Riviere Apr. 7, 1896 985,113 Conrad Feb. 21, 1911 1,231,022,Headley June 26, 1917 1,646,716 Wheeler Oct. 25, 192.7 2,176,072 HarrisOct. 17, 1939 2,249,219 Narn et a1 July 15, 1941 2,420,428 Hill et a1May 13, 1947 2,430,521 McCormick Nov. 11, 1947

6. IN A HEAT TREATING BASKET, A SUPPORT STRUCTURE INCLUDING A PLURALITYOF SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SUPPORT RODS, A PLURALITY OFSUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WIRE ELEMENTS EXTENDING NORMAL TO SAID SUPPORTRODS, A PLURALITY OF CONNECTING MEANS ON SAID WIRE ELEMENTS ENCIRCLINGEACH OF SAID SUPPORT RODS FOR FIXING THE RODS THERETO AND SPACING MEANSADJACENT EACH OF SAID CONNECTING MEANS INCLUDING ABUTMENT MEANSINTEGRALLY ADDED TO SAID SUP-